Adrien vs Predator
by Darkmoose84
Summary: Chat Noir has his work cut out for him, as a tenacious yautja warrior, the Predator, is following him from the rooftops. It's now a battle between one of Paris' best heroes and the alien hunter. (Since the Predator has encountered everyone from Batman to Archie, I figured Chat Noir was a mix of the two, so why not?)


February 11th, 2018, Forum des Halles, Paris, France.

Adrien stared up at the massive glass ceiling and wondered what it would be like to be floating above it, above the clouds in the light of the sun, free as a bird. Of course, flying through the air (or in the case of his alter ego, Chat Noir, jumping from roof to roof) meant having to endure the cold rain pouring from the dark gargantuan clouds at the moment. Still, he watched as the rain drops pelted the large ceiling, flooding it with the flowing shapes of ever changing water patterns.

Still, as he watched this, he couldn't help but feel someone was watching him as well, some invisible man watching him from beyond the glass of the ceiling.

He had to shake this minor feeling of paranoia and focus on the task at hand. He was in the middle of another photo-shoot and needed to keep his head straight, quite literally, staring upwards into the air. He was modeling for Gabriel's new jacket line; the jacket itself didn't look bad, and hung pretty comfortable from him, so he didn't have too many complaints about it. But no sooner had the last flash gone off then he heard the photographer shout.

"We're done," the photographer said, "I think I got all the shots I needed."

"Whew, thanks, man," Adrien breathed a sigh of relief, "I felt like I was about to get a crick in my neck."

"Yeah, sorry about that," the photographer replied, "I just had to get the shot just right! Anyways, kid like you needs to enjoy your Saturday. I'll let your dad know the shoot is over."

"Cool by me," Adrien responded, "Do you need the jacket back?"

"Nah," the photographer answered. "You can keep it; you'll need it on a day like today." And with that, the photographer gathered his equipment and moved them out of the staging area on the way back to his van. This left Adrien and his hulking bodyguard alone with the crowd of people.

"Hey," Adrien said to his bodyguard, "Why don't you enjoy your Saturday, too. Go take the day off for a change."

The bodyguard gave out a grunt similar to what one would associate with Boris Karloff's Frankenstein monster. It was a sound indicating he disagreed with Adrien, that he would remain diligent in protecting him and as he was assigned to do.

"Alright, look," Adrien said, still desperately wanting to break away from anything oppressive, including the constant watchful gaze of the guard, "How 'bout I give you some l'oseille, and you let me hang out with my friends who are on their way here." The guard seemed unphased by the offer, but Adrien persisted. He took some euros out of his pocket "I know you've been wanting to play the new Resident Evil. You could probably pick it up here."

At last, the bodyguard took the money, stuffed them into his jacket pocket, and proceeded on his own merry way. It actually kind of amused Adrien to see a hulking gorilla of a man bounding up the stairs to the nearest FNAC like a little kid heading to a toy store. This left Adrien to his own thoughts once more. Valentine's Day was coming up, and he planned on giving the wonderful Ladybug a gift, be it in the form of chocolate or some expensive necklace. He knew Chloe liked him, but she didn't seem to be the same nice person she was when they were growing up; he kind of missed the old Chloe and wondered what could have made her act like such a jerk to everyone. Or had she always been like that without him realizing it?

His thoughts then turned to Marinette. She was kind of cute, too, and he thought she might be interested in him as well but wasn't entirely sure. Still, he was dead set on who he wanted as his valentine, and that was most certainly Ladybug. How to present it to her, he wasn't sure. He didn't feel as confident in himself as Adrien; in fact, being his normal self felt almost stifling. As Chat Noir, he felt less shy and more laissez faire. If only he could find a balance between the two and feel more comfortable in his own skin and more self-controlled in the cat suit.

Yet still another thought regarding Marinette entered his mind. Could she be Ladybug behind that mask? Their voice, face, eyes, even hair all looked the same, but Ladybug obviously carried herself with much more dignity and confidence rather than the shyness he saw from Marinette each day.

How long would Clark Kent's glasses work before everyone realized he was Superman?

Adrien then sat on the steps and looked up at the ceiling again to watch the rain. As he looked harder at one spot, between the steel beams that lined the glass, he could swear he saw the outline of a man standing atop the building. He couldn't see any features; it was as if the rain were forming around some invisible shape. He looked down into the jacket pocket where Plagg had been resting after finishing more of his brie slice.

"Hey, Plagg," Adrien said, pointing to the ceiling, "do you see that up there?"

"Whaaaa?" Plagg asked, yawning and looking in the direction Adrien was pointing, "Well, I could see it if you give me another slice of brie."

"I don't have anymore. Sorry."

"Then I guess that's both of our losses," Plagg responded before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Adrien looked back up at the ceiling, and the outline of the man was still standing there, which he could barely see as he squinted into the air. There were no ideas on the figure, but he could tell the ghost-like figure was indeed looking directly at him.

"Adrien, dude," Nico yelled behind him, causing him to jump. He and Alya were walking down the stairs towards him.

"Whoa, hey," Adrien responded, "Didn't expect you'd be here so soon." Nino and Alya then sat on the stair above him.

"Sorry if we startled you," Alya said, "It looked like you jumped there for a moment."

"No worries," Adrien replied, "My brain was somewhere else."

"So what did you have in mind?" Nino asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could all see a film together," Adrien looked around, "Where's Marinette?"

"She got caught up helping her parents with something at the bakery," Alya answered, "It was some last minute thing where a customer had a kid's birthday and had forgotten to order in advance."

"Oh, well," Adrien had some disappointment but continued smiling, "I guess it's just us today."

The friends continued back up the stairs towards the exit of the mall. Adrien's suspicions of course were correct, as there was indeed a figure on the glass roof. It continued to watch the three friends as they walked together, its thermal vision reading the outline of their body heat, showing them all in bright orange and red. The reticle in its mask allowed it to zoom in on Adrien and focus on him and recording his speech patterns.

Could this adolescent be the same warrior with the power of destruction, the Chat Noir they had been studying from far above the planet's atmosphere? It was difficult for the invisible figure to believe, but perhaps his power was somehow hidden. If this was true, it would make for the perfect hunt and perhaps a fantastic battle. Should the pursuer win, this so called 'Miraculous' that they spoke of would make a fine trophy. Perhaps afterwards, they would pursue the one known as Ladybug.

As the three friends continued down the street, the invisible figure followed, leaping from roof to roof as they progressed. Finally, as they rounded the corner and proceeded down an empty street, this was the perfect time for the figure to make its move. It readied its shoulder cannon and took aim at Adrien using the laser sighting in its mask.

Down below, the friends continued their banter, unaware of the creature's presence.

"So, I was dreaming that I was a fox," Alya explained, "and for some reason, Nino was a turtle riding on my back…"

"Hey, what's that on your back, dude?" Nino interrupted and pointed at the three red dots on Adrien's back. Adrien attempted to look over his shoulder to see it, but no sooner did he try than a burst of blue plasma rained down at him from the roof of the building to their left. Fortunately, Adrien was able to act fast.

"Get down!" he yelled and tackled his friends out of the way as the plasma blast hit the street and ruptured a hole in the asphalt.

"What was that?" Nino asked.

"Could it be another akumatized villain?" Alya continued.

"Don't know," Adrien replied, "but it's best if we spread out. You two run that way, and I'll call Chat Noir for help."

"Dude, you've got Chat Noir's number and you didn't tell me?" Nino asked.

"Long story…?" Adrien's answer was awkward to say the least. "Either way, let's go!"

"And I'll call Ladybug," Alya said, taking Nino by the hand and beginning her run down the street. She called back to him. "And Adrien, stay safe, okay?"

"You both as well," Adrien called out, and with that came another blast of plasma from the roof, which Adrien barely dodged. He rounded another corner and held out his ring. He then called for Plagg. Whether he yelled for the kwami to transform him or if he shouted 'claws out,' it was second nature to him, some routine he felt he needed to follow in order for the kwami to work his magic.

And in only five seconds, Adrien was now the infamous Chat Noir. He then turned around and used his claws to climb the building to where this figure must have been, given the angle of the plasma blasts. As he climbed, he felt the rain build from the light drizzle it had been to a pouring monsoon.

Upon reaching the top he saw the figure standing at the other end of the roof, its outline only visible due to the falling rain, though the figure itself appeared to have its own rigid yet flowing shape, as though it were made of water likewise.

It stared at Chat Noir once more and made this gargling, growling sound as lighting flashed behind it. And perfectly on cue with the thundering boom that followed, it readied its laser sighting again, clearly from where Adrien thought its head might be.

Suddenly, another plasma burst came from its opposite shoulder, and Chat immediately cartwheeled out of the way, the blast singeing the ground where he previously stood. He then charged at the figure who readied another shot.

"That's a cool ray gun ya got there," Chat chided as he ran towards the figure, which he could now see was much taller than he had anticipated, "Shame if it were to, I don't know, dissolve into dust." As Chat was now almost in reach of the creature, he charged some dark energy in his hand. "Cataclysm!" he shouted, and just as the blue energy blast began to fire, he leapt over the figure and grabbed the source of the shot with his charged hand. The shoulder cannon crumpled to dust, as did the rest of the gear to which it was connected. Upon landing in a crouched position, Chat looked back up at his elusive pursuer.

 **Round one was over. Chat won.**

This must have included the cloaking device the figure was using, as its real shape made itself manifest. The humanoid beast looked to have the yellow and green patched skin similar to an amphibian. Its fingers and toes (both of which showed through its gloves and sandals) terminated in pointed claws. It appeared to wear a silver mask, and out of the back of its head flowed what looked like thick black dreadlocks.

It made that same gurgling growl as it did when it first saw him. It then decided to lose all pretense and slowly remove its mask. Chat wished the thing had kept it on, for underneath it was its hideous visage. It had ghastly yellow and black eyes, and its mouth held four mandibles, like those of a crab's. It then gave a deep roar, revealing a wider mouth beyond the mandibles, full of sharp teeth.

"That's one…ugly…mug you got there," Chat groaned out, getting back into a fighting stance. "Maybe Marinette and Alya can give you a makeover."

The creature then released what looked like a two long, jagged claws from another device on its right wrist.

"Alright," Chat resolved, "Claws versus claws it is." He released the claws on his fingers. "I wonder if they'll even stand a chance, given how short they are." There wasn't time to think about that as the creature rushed towards him, roaring all the way.

This Predator, as Chat decided to call it since it seemed to have been hunting him, then slashed at him with its claws. Chat dodged and attempted to scratch the creature, though it seemed like he barely did anything to it. There was a small, glowing neon green glow where he had made his mark on the monster, but it didn't seem to even phase him. The Predator then responded by making another quick horizontal slashing motion. This one Chat couldn't dodge; he would have to block it with his claws.

He caught the Predator's claws with his own for a brief moment; it was not two seconds before Chat's claws shattered off of his fingers, casing him to stagger back and fall to his knees.

 **Round two was over. The Predator had won.**

Now, it was time for round three.

"Okay, that was a bad idea," Chat said, standing back up, "Now it's time to stop messing around." He produced his baton which he then extended into a quarterstaff. The Predator then produced what also looked like a baton, only to notice it extended into what looked like a spear. It then held it in the same manner Chat held his staff. "I think this'll be a fair fight at least."

The two lunged at each other, their weapons clashing. A low attack, followed by a high attack. High, low, high, high, low. The attacks perfectly clashed with one another. When it came to pole arms, the two fighters were evenly matched.

Finally, their weapons collided to where each fighter began pushing back on one another. Chat gritted his teeth as the alien monster continued to push him forward, as if to try and knock him to the ground or pin him. But he wasn't having it, as he pushed forward. For a moment, the two were almost nose to ugly nose. Chat new he couldn't keep this momentum up forever, but he wondered whose strength would give out first. He knew his, however, was quickly fading.

Suddenly, out of nowhere came what looked like a large yo-yo that knocked the Predator in the head, causing it to stagger. Off to Chat's left came none other than Ladybug, swinging in with some large red device under her arm.

"M'lady," Chat's voice was a mixture of joy and relief, "Charmed as ever to see you here."

"Likewise, Chat Noir," Ladybug replied upon landing, "I saw your fight a roof over and summoned my lucky charm. This time it gave me a giant thermal blanket for some reason, though I think I already figured it out."

"It always gives you the weirdest things," Chat followed, "But if you agree to dinner with me some night out of the week, I might have a nicer gift for you."

"No time for flirting, kitty," Ladybug rolled her eyes, "It looks like that monster is still ready to fight." It was true that the Predator had recovered from his headache and was set to fight once more. Before the creature regained his composure, Ladybug and Chat ran to another side of the building and threw the large blanket over each other. The Predator readied its spear once more, this time preparing to throw it, but it couldn't see where to throw it.

"Can't see us now, can you?" Chat chided under his breath. He was mostly just happy to be that close to Ladybug.

A few seconds, though, and the Predator caught the site of what looked like two mounds under what it thought might be the ground. It decided that this must be them, hiding their heat from its vision. It readied its spear once more, but just in time, Chat extended the staff straight from the blanket, slamming the creature in the gut. It continued with enough force that it knocked the monster off the roof.

 **Round 3 was over. Ladybug and Chat Noir had won.**

The two heroes looked over the edge to see that the monster was still moving, albeit barely. It had made a massive dint in the street where it landed. Seems the creature was immobilized but still living, thankfully. Neither Chat nor Ladybug knew how they would have felt if it had died from that.

Both heroes made their way down to the ground level to examine the creature, Ladybug via her yo-yo while still holding the blanket and Chat from descending on the poll. They noticed the creature was reaching up and pressing the device on its left wrist. Upon doing this, it initiated a low, slow beeping sound. The Predator looked up at both of them and began making this strange laugh. It then pointed at the device on its wrist it had previously been pressing.

"Explosion!" the Predator growled out in its raspy, guttural voice. So the creature could speak at least a little French after all, although neither hero liked what they heard.

How were they going to get out of this one? The lucky charm might fix the holes in the street and heal any injuries, but that wouldn't guarantee it would stop the bomb's countdown. They could try and run from it, but that would leave the nearby civilians vulnerable, not to mention they had no idea how big the explosion would be.

Suddenly, there flashed on Chat's mind an idea. He had done this once when they faced Dark Owl where, after he transformed back from Adrien to Chat, he could use his Cataclysm ability again.

The two heroes looked at each other, a nervous feeling in their gut they had never felt.

"Any ideas, kitty?" Ladybug's voice was nervous.

"I have one, M'lady," it was rare for her to hear Chat choke up, "But it's risky. And if this is going to be our last moment together. I need you to know who I am…the real me."

"Chat, I thought we agreed…"

"I can't go out without showing you the truth," Chat continued, "But I am hoping I won't disappoint you with it."

The beeping became faster, and the tone of the beeps grew higher. The explosion was near.

"Here it goes," Chat closed his eyes and, right before Ladybug's eyes, transformed back into Adrien. Plagg flew from the ring and hovered above his shoulder, but the first thing he noticed was Ladybug's jaw dropping; he thought it was going to fall through the ground. "Well, M'lady, here I am, Adrien Agreste. Sorry for the secrecy; I had just changed back during our fight with Simonsez because I didn't want you to worry about me." she didn't say anything, eyes like saucers and her mouth still hanging open. "I know, you might have been expecting some soldier or police officer or some lean champion fighter. But no, I'm just a high school student who occasionally does modeling. Pretty lame, huh?"

"No!" Ladybug blurted out at last, "Not at all! I…I…" She had no idea what to say.

The beeping grew faster. The Predator continued his gelatinous, raspy laughter.

"You don't have to show me who you are if you're still not comfortable," Adrien said, "But right now, we've got a city to save. Plagg, transform me!" In moments, Adrien had transformed back into Chat Noir. "Cataclysm!" he shouted as he channeled the energy back into his fist. Thankfully, the trick was able to work, though it was draining Plagg's energy. With that he reached down and touched the Predator's gauntlet, destroying it and thus disarming the bomb. The Predator stopped laughing but then immediately tried to get up, only to fail.

"It is done," Chat sighed, "Uhh, Ladybug?" She was still staring at him before shaking her head.

"Right!" she stuttered, "Miraculous Ladybug!" She tossed the thermal blanket into the air, causing it to spiral with that familiar magical energy. It fixed the holes in the street, along with healing the Predator's injuries and equipment, while also pushing the creature to its knees.

Both heroes looked over the creature, not sure if it was going to attack again or if it was spent. The monster looked back up at the two, its ugly gaze mortifying. It rose to its feet and loomed over them for a moment, giving them a look of respect and honor. It then put its mask back on, which the charm had brought back to him on the ground level, and turned to go. It glanced back at Chat for a final moment, grabbed its now retracted spear, and roll tossed it towards him, which Chat quickly caught.

"Take it," the creature growled before turning to go, turning on its cloaking device and disappearing into a nearby alleyway.

At that point, the rain subsided, and the sun began to peak through the clouds.

The two stared in silence for a moment before looking at one another. In that same instance, they heard the familiar ring of their Miraculouses about to run out of power.

"Ugh, pound it?" Chat held out his fist with some nervousness, not knowing what else to do. Ladybug just gave the return fist bump with a feeble shakiness, all before quickly grabbing Chat Noir by the shoulders and pushing him into a nearby alley.

"I didn't want anyone to see us when this happened," Ladybug said, and of course he knew what she meant. Thankfully, no one was in the street during the fight, but one never knew who could be right around the corner. In that moment, the two heroes began to change back to their normal personas, giving the visual confirmation of what Adrien already knew: that Ladybug was of course Marinette.

"Well, here I am," Marinette muttered with a nervous smile, "Now I'm worried YOU'LL be disappointed."

"Ha, not at all," Adrien replied, "I think I kinda already knew. Your voice, your hair, your eyes…they were all very similar." And very beautiful, but he didn't vocalize this.

"And can you keep this a secret?" Marinette asked, her gaze turned to the ground, "I namely did this to protect my family and didn't want anyone who could be akumatized to go after them."

"Of course," Adrien smiled warmly, "We're a team aren't we? I personally think this is a good thing; that way, we can know each other's status and who to contact if there's an emergency."

"Well…" Marinette swooned as she looked back up into his eyes, "What do we do now?"

"Considering we almost died," Adrien took her by the hand, "Want to go get some ice cream? I think we need some creature comforts right about now."


End file.
